1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a switch assembly having multiple blades in a chassis and a method of using that assembly to switch data. In particular, the invention relates to configurations having five and nine blades to provide the requisite switching capacity.
2. Description of the Related Art
As computer performance has increased in recent years, the demands on computer networks has significantly increased; faster computer processors and higher memory capabilities need networks with high bandwidth capabilities to enable high speed transfer of significant amounts of data. The well-known Ethernet technology, which is based upon numerous IEEE Ethernet standards, is one example of computer networking technology which has been able to be modified and improved to remain a viable computing technology. A more complete discussion of prior art networking systems can be found, for example, in SWITCHED AND FAST ETHERNET, by Breyer and Riley (Ziff-Davis, 1996), and numerous IEEE publications relating to IEEE 802 standards. Based upon the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) 7-layer reference model, network capabilities have grown through the development of repeaters, bridges, routers, and, more recently, “switches”, which operate with various types of communication media. Thickwire, thinwire, twisted pair, and optical fiber are examples of media which has been used for computer networks. Switches, as they relate to computer networking and to Ethernet, are hardware-based devices which control the flow of data packets or cells based upon destination address information which is available in each packet. A properly designed and implemented switch should be capable of receiving a packet and switching the packet to an appropriate output port at what is referred to wirespeed or linespeed, which is the maximum speed capability of the particular network.
Basic Ethernet wirespeed is up to 10 megabits per second, and Fast Ethernet is up to 100 megabits per second. The newest Ethernet is referred to as 10,000 Mbits/s Ethernet, and is capable of transmitting data over a network at a rate of up to 10,000 megabits per second. As speed has increased, design constraints and design requirements have become more and more complex with respect to following appropriate design and protocol rules and providing a low cost, commercially viable solution. For example, in environments where data switching is needed, multiple switches are combined into a switch assembly capable of switching much more data that an single switch.
In the most general terms, a chassis is a frame or box like sheet metal support for mounting the components of an electronic device. In switching applications, the mounted components are referred to as blades. The blades have electronic devices mounted thereon and the chassis architecture allows blades to be swapped out depending on the needs of the switching environment.
In prior art systems, the configurations do not allow for the throughput required for data switching now and in the future. Therefore, there is a need for a switch assembly that allows for multiple configurations, that allows for blades to be “hot swappable” and that allows for data handling and switching at the wirespeeds discussed above.